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Cyberespionage Group Might Be Planning Electrical Grid Attacks

The security industry has been warning for years that hackers might be able to cause power outages by taking control of critical systems at energy companies. After malware attacks against power stations in Ukraine resulted in blackouts in 2014 and 2015, new evidence that suggests a sophisticated group of attackers might be planning disruptive attacks in the energy sector has security researchers worried.

Over the past year, security firm Symantec has observed a rising number of attempts by a cyberespionage group known as Dragonfly to break into the computer networks of energy companies in Europe and North America.

Dragonfly has been active since at least 2011 but temporarily stopped its attack campaigns in 2014 after security researchers exposed its operations. The group resumed its activities in 2015 and has recently escalated its attacks.